I have had consistently high cholesterol for over a year now - in the 238 to 240 range. My Triglycerides have been erratic, sometimes above normal,sometimes below.

My doctor refuses to prescribe a statin to reduce cholesterol, even though my diet is good and I walk a lot. What is the thresshold for prescribing statins and are there any risks in not taking them in my case? Also, do the statins cause side effects? (One of my liver enzymes is 20% above normal, though my doctor declines to say whether that is the reason he doesn't want to prescribe a statin drug).

I'd really appreciate your guidance here.

Many thanks and regards.

Response from Dr. Moyle

We generally follow the national cholesterol education program guidelines http://www.cholesterol-tests.com/NCEP_Guidelines.html

If you 10 year risk of heart disease is >15-20% this is an indication to treat.
An isolated high cholesterol (yours is not particularly high, and you may have lots of good HDL cholesterol amongst it) with no additional risk factors would be unlikely to put you in the intervention range

This forum is designed for educational purposes only, and experts are not rendering medical, mental health, legal or other professional advice or services. If you have or suspect you may have a medical, mental health, legal or other problem that requires advice, consult your own caregiver, attorney or other qualified professional.

Experts appearing on this page are independent and are solely responsible for editing and fact-checking their material. Neither TheBody.com nor any advertiser is the publisher or speaker of posted visitors' questions or the experts' material.

The Body is a service of Remedy Health Media, LLC, 750 3rd Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10017. The Body and its logos are trademarks of Remedy Health Media, LLC, and its subsidiaries, which owns the copyright of The Body's homepage, topic pages, page designs and HTML code. General Disclaimer: The Body is designed for educational purposes only and is not engaged in rendering medical advice or professional services. The information provided through The Body should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or a disease. It is not a substitute for professional care. If you have or suspect you may have a health problem, consult your health care provider.